A bit of a set-up really, but that cr#p is what so many parents will say.... when confronted with the crass-medja fear-mongered threats to their youngsters. The young kids were so much more believable.

il padrone wrote:A bit of a set-up really, but that cr#p is what so many parents will say.... when confronted with the crass-medja fear-mongered threats to their youngsters. The young kids were so much more believable.

It is made this way deliberately as it is "mocking" the comments made in focus groups by parents on the topic. If you check the video on YouTube you can get the background on it.

When I was at school (finished 09) there were maybe... 0 students who rode their bike. My situation is a lot different to others but I attended a school that made me wear long pants, tie etc and were particularly forceful making students wear the correct uniform in and out of the school grounds. Obviously no one wants to ride in 30 degrees in long pants and a button up shirt. Some schools need to take the blame here.

Crowz wrote:I attended a school that made me wear long pants, tie etc and were particularly forceful making students wear the correct uniform in and out of the school grounds. Obviously no one wants to ride in 30 degrees in long pants and a button up shirt.

My 1972 form 3 (Year 9) photo, taken one February day. That's me in the top row, third from left. We rode bikes to school, and even in summer. Blazers were only mandatory in winter at our school though. Ties, always required (in and outside school), short pants were a summer choice but for most of 'the cool set' long pants were essential wear.

Finished high school in 99. I rode 10k round trip rain hale or shine from year 8 till the day I got my drivers license in year 12. We all rode for the freedom before/after school... didn't want yo mamma knowing what da boyz got up too!

My school was only maybe 5 or 6km away but I got the train every day. I didn't have or ride bikes at the time but in retrospect if I had I would have ridden a lot more I think. We had to wear long pants, shirts and ties all year 'round too but it's not hard to put some clothes in a pannier and get changed like I do for work now. Same with uni, it's such a short ride (maybe 10km) I kick myself these days for taking a long bus trip there and back every time instead of riding, there was even a shower in my faculty building.

Have you seem the new Ford Territory ad? It highlights the appeal of the entertainment system saying something like "the kids love the DVD player. They just want to put it on all the time, even for five minute trips." Pan to mind numbed kids not interfering with the grownup conversation. Easy parenting.

Five minute trip? Why are you driving? What are you possibly going to see on a DVD in that time? Why are you so scared to engage with your kids in person?

In theory, parents can be charged for allowing their young children to ride or even walk to school. They are in effect not providing sufficient supervision for their children’s safety.With this in mind why would anyone not drive their children to school?They are supervised and the parent is the best driver in the world!

It is the responsibility of parents to ensure the safety of their children. Just as you can not leave a child alone in their home, in a car or play ground/park, it could also be argued that allowing a child to ride to school by themselves or unsupervised is also evading the duty of care that parents must give their children.Unfortunately Australians consider it safer to be driven to school than to ride. This maybe due in part to the way we place the bulk of the responsibility of rider safety on the rider/supervisor when it should be on the motorised traffic. In addition the NSW Centre for Road Safety http://ols2.rta.nsw.gov.au/ebus/docs/rescat/pdf/8/1180/45092307safetyonwheels0409.pdf recommends that children up to 10 years of age not ride on a road, near vehicles or near driveways. This would suggest that they don’t ride to school.While society thinks like that so too will courts and should some ‘do gooder’ decide to bring a case on this, there is the possibility of a parent being found guilty of neglect.

BigPete wrote:In theory, parents can be charged for allowing their young children to ride or even walk to school

You have got to be joking !! Forgot the TIC?

Allowing your children (at an appropriate age and situation) to ride a bike to school or walk, on residential streets along a well thought out route, is a part of good parenting to engender independence and confidence in your children.

BigPete wrote:They are supervised and the parent is the best driver in the world!

There are an awful lot of parents who definitely are not, judging by many motorists' behaviour.

I hear about the safety of our kids and agree - but not allowing our kids to develop independence and learn "safety" by taking reasonable risks is poor parenting. Yes this will mean different things for each and every one of our children.

With my no.1 kid going to high school next year we are looking to let her ride and finding a safe path and riding with her as an option. We will give her this as a way she can choose what is safe for her.

The way I see it (IMHO) is the price for no freedom is kids who don't take responsibility for themselves.

BigPete wrote:In theory, parents can be charged for allowing their young children to ride or even walk to school

You have got to be joking !! Forgot the TIC?

Joking I am not. I don’t see much difference between leaving a child alone in a car for a minute or two while the parent ducks into a shop to purchase something to allowing a child to cycle to school. If anything I would consider it safer for the child to be in the car than riding, however people have been charged for leaving children unattended in cars.

In Queensland, Section 364A of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to leave children under 12 years old alone for an unreasonable amount of time without supervision.

il padrone wrote:Allowing your children (at an appropriate age and situation) to ride a bike to school or walk, on residential streets along a well thought out route, is a part of good parenting to engender independence and confidence in your children.

Agree. However what one person may see as a short ride to school and using well thought out routes may appear to others as a long and dangerous ride. As the title of this thread suggests and the comments within it (the video of the OP), there are many people who consider riding to school dangerous. It appears to me that our society is ever more wanting to protect children and has got to the stage where some people feel children should not be out of sight for even a few seconds. As I said earlier in this thread, the justice system reflects societies thinking. It is just a matter of time before the police charge a parent for neglect.

il padrone wrote:

BigPete wrote:They are supervised and the parent is the best driver in the world!

There are an awful lot of parents who definitely are not, judging by many motorists' behaviour.

BigPete wrote:I don’t see much difference between leaving a child alone in a car for a minute or two while the parent ducks into a shop to purchase something to allowing a child to cycle to school.

The key difference in this little comparison is age of the said child. The laws re children left in cars especially on warm/hot days concerns the safety of children who are mostly well below the age that a responsible parent would consider allowing to ride solo to school. Once the child is more than 5-6 years old they are pretty much able to open the door or wind the window down if they get too hot.

But your comparison is quite an ironic one to raise. It is just the sort of thing that our taxi-mums are so very likely to do

BigPete wrote:Joking I am not. I don’t see much difference between leaving a child alone in a car for a minute or two while the parent ducks into a shop to purchase something to allowing a child to cycle to school. If anything I would consider it safer for the child to be in the car than riding, however people have been charged for leaving children unattended in cars.

In Queensland, Section 364A of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to leave children under 12 years old alone for an unreasonable amount of time without supervision.

il padrone wrote:Allowing your children (at an appropriate age and situation) to ride a bike to school or walk, on residential streets along a well thought out route, is a part of good parenting to engender independence and confidence in your children.

Agree. However what one person may see as a short ride to school and using well thought out routes may appear to others as a long and dangerous ride. As the title of this thread suggests and the comments within it (the video of the OP), there are many people who consider riding to school dangerous. It appears to me that our society is ever more wanting to protect children and has got to the stage where some people feel children should not be out of sight for even a few seconds. As I said earlier in this thread, the justice system reflects societies thinking. It is just a matter of time before the police charge a parent for neglect.

I was a child in the 80s and 90s. It really wasn't that long ago. I would get myself to and from school by walking from the age of 7. By 10 I was attending a different school and took two buses to get there. On weekends I was riding my bicycle all around the nearby suburbs.

So was I neglected as a child?

I don't have kids. But when I do I will allow them the same independence that I had as a child.

Who is online

About the Australian Cycling Forums

The largest cycling discussion forum in Australia for all things bike; from new riders to seasoned bike nuts, the Australian Cycling Forums are a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.